Liquid spray device



LIQUID SPRAY DEVICE Filed March 1, 1967 FlG.i

m 50 7 WNW m 5 N M E z mJd 0 0 f HF. T c A United States Patent 3,415,452 LIQUID SPRAY DEVICE Shoji Kato and Choji Kanda, Nishinomiya-shi, Japan, as-

signors to Asahi Breweries Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed Mar. 1, 1967, Ser. No. 619,834 Claims priority, application Japan, June 1, 1966, 41/ 35,264 2 Claims. (Cl. 239257) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A liquid spray device comprising a spray pipe unit having liquid spray orifices and also a rotational speed regulating means consisting of a tiltable tube having at least one closed end and containing a ball adapted to slide along the inner wall of said tube, said tiltable tube being fixed at one end portion thereof to said spray pipe unit for pivotal movement, whereby the rotational speed of said spray pipe unit is controlled as desired by changing the centrifugal force imparted by the rotation of said unit to said slideable ball as a result of altering the tilting angle of said tube.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the inventi0n.-Rotary spray or sprinkling head having adjustable means independent of the fluid spray for adjusting the rotational speed of the head.

(b) Description of the prior arl.-Known rotary liquid spray devices such as water-jet devices and cleaning devices are structured so that the liquid is ejected under pressure at the surface of the rotary pipe in the direction tangential to the vortex formed by the loci of the rotating pipe so as to utilize the reaction of the ejection as the driving force of the rotation. These known spray devices of the aforesaid type, however, have the shortcomings that their rotational speed cannot be changed as desired and besides, the size of the orifices is established at the time of the designing of the spray devices. Accordingly, as the liquid pressure rises to an excess level, the rotational speed of the device increases to such an extent as to spoil the beauty of the water jet in case said device is used in water-jet unit or to cause the liquid, when the device is incorporated in a spray-type cleaner, to be scattered from the orifices in various directions in too fine drops to be useful for the cleaning purposes. In the event that the liquid pressure becomes lowered, on the other hand, the rotational speed of the device becomes reduced, causing inconveniences which are contrary in nature to those described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to eliminate these shortcomings and inconveniences of the prior art by providing an improved rotary liquid spray device equipped with a rotational speed control means adapted to freely adjust the rotational speed of the device including the arresting of the rotation of the latter.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid spray device equipped with means for freely adjusting the rotational speed of the liquid ejecting pipe efiiciently used at a rotational speed suitable for various individual purposes including the washing of the interior of various containers by the use of drug solutions or water, the production of water jets, or the sprinkling of water or insecticide in farms and gardens, by either fixing or movably mounting said device inside the containers or reservoirs which may be used for the manufacture of products or for materials to be stored.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention will be described in further detail in connection with an embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the present invention is not restricted thereto, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention which is defined in the appended claims. It is also to be noted that like parts in the drawings are indicated by like reference numerals.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a liquid spray device of the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of a rotational speed regulating means of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGURE 1, reference numeral 1 represents a liquidejecting pipe unit having two branch pipes of Y-shape. This liquid ejecting pipe unit 1 is attached, for smooth rotation and in water-tight relationship, to a mouthpiece 13 mounted onto a free end of a liquid supply pipe 16 by appropriate wear-resisting means such, for example, as a thrust bearing 12 and an O-ring .11 made of polytetrafiuoroethylene, and further by an appropriate watersealing means to avoid any leakage of the liquid from the parts of the liquid spray device. Each of the two branch pipes is provided with a plurality of liquid spray orifices 2 on the outer and upper sides thereof relative to the axis of rotation of said branch pipes. Near the free end of each branch pipe is provided a liquid discharge opening 3 for imparting thereto a rotational force in the direction perpendicular to the axis of said liquid spray orifice 2 in such manner that both liquid discharge openings 3 are disposed in opposite directions relative to each other (FIGURE 3). Reference numeral 4 represents a disk member having a flange portion and an adjacent protruding boss portion which is integral with said flange portion and which engages said liquid discharge opening 3. Said disk member 4 is provided with a bore 14 whose peripheral wall is formed and defined by said flange and boss portions. Near the external peripheries of said disk member 4 are provided two curved slits 5 each being disposed along the circumferential direction of the disk member. This disk member 4 is rotatably mounted, by an appropriate clamping means such as a bolt 6, to a recessed seating plate 17 which is fixed to the portion of each liquid discharge opening 3 located near the end portion thereof in such manner that the protruding boss portion of said disk member 4 slideably engages the recessed portion of said seating plate 17.

In FIGURE 1, the aforedescribed disk member 4 is provided for each of the two branch pipes. This, however, is not always necessary, and the disk member 4 may be attached to only one of the branch pipes. In this latter instance, there is accordingly no need of providing the liquid discharge opening 3 in the branch pipe to which the disk member is not attached.

Furthermore, the disk member 4 is provided with a shape and extending radially of said disk member 4 and extending toward the axis of the rotation of said branch pipes. Said tube 7 is closed at its end where it is attached to said disk member 4 and preferably is made of a rustfree material such as stainless steel or synthetic resin. The tube 7 is open at its other end. A rust-free ball 9, such as a stainless steel ball, which is of an appropriate Weight is inserted in the hollow bore of the tube 7 through said open end of the tube. A stopping fitting such as a split cotter pin is provided in said tube 7 to prevent the ball from escaping therefrom. The tube '7 is provided with a hole formed through one of the side Walls thereof, as shown in FIGURE 2, so as to be in register with the aforesaid bore '14 of the disk member 4. and also is provided with a liquid jet orifice 8 which is formed through the wall on the opposite sides of said tube in c0- axial relation with said hole 15 for rotating the corresponding liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1. The size and the location of the liquid jet orifice 8 and the hole 15 may be selected so that the ball 9 will be positioned centralwise relative to both the hole 15 and the orifice 8 and that the ball 9 will engage and cover the entire areas defined, respectively, by both the hole 15 and the orifice 8.

Description will next be directed to the action of the liquid spray device of the present invention. Let us now assume that the liquid spray device of the present invention having the above-described structure is used in washing the interior of a container such as a storage tank having a hollow cylindrical shape. In this instance, the mouthpiece 13 of said device is coupled to the free end of the water supply pipe 16 which is provided centrally of the upper wall of said tank, and thereafter a quantity of water is supplied thereto. The water or any other desired liquid will jet out through the spray orifice 2 in radial directions, while the water ejecting under pressure from the liquid jet orifice 8 will cause the branch pipe of the unit 1 to rotate, with the result that the entire face of the inner Wall of the storage tank is washed thoroughly.

The rotational speed of the liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1 is controlled by first loosening the bolt 6, then turning the disk member 4 so as to change the degree of the inclination of the tiltable ball-containing tube 7 by a desired amount, and therafter fastening said bolt 6 tight to fix said disk member 4 against the recessed seating plate 17.

When the liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1 is at rest, the ball 9 tends to stay at the position indicated by the dotted line in FIGURE 1 due to the gravity of the ball. However, as the speed of the rotation of the liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1 increases, and as the component of the centrifugal force which is applied to the ball 9 in the direction parallel to the ball-containing tube accordingly exceeds the component of the gravity exerted in the same direction onto the ball, the ball 9 will roll or slide along the bore of the tube 7 to move to the closed end of said tube and to block the liquid jet orifice 8 thereof, resulting in a decrease in the speed of rotation of said liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1. As the rotational speed of said unit 1 becomes reduced, the ball 9 will again return to its initial position indicated by the dotted line in FIGURE 1. When it is desired to increase the rotational speed of the liquid-ejectin-g pipe unit 1, it is only necessary to bring the inclination of the ball-containing tube 7 closer to the vertical line. On the other hand, when it is desired to decrease the rotational speed, it is only necessary to turn the tiltable ball-containing tube 7 to a position closer to the horizontal line with the end of the tube opposite to the closed end being located proximal to the axis of the rotation of the liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1.

Thus, the tube 7 containing the ball 9 serves as a simple but reliable governor by which the liquid-ejecting pipe unit 1 can be rotated constantly at an appropriate speed. This arrangement of the present invention completely eliminates the disadvantages of the devices of the prior art wherein the elevated pressure of the water supply caused the water-ejecting pipe unit 1 to rotate at an exceedingly high speed so that the water was scattered radially in fine drops, substantially reducing the effectiveness of the washing operation.

In the event that it is desired to use the liquid spray device of the present invention in, for example, a rotary water-jet means, the liquid-ejecting pipe unit is so disposed that the ends of the branch pipes face upwardly which is the reverse of that shown in FIGURE 1 and a shooting nozzle or nozzles are attached to the aforemost ends 1A of the branch pipes.

Description has been made with respect to the liquid spray device having two branch pipes. It is needless to say that said liquid-ejecting pipe unit may comprise three or more branch pipes disposed parallel relative to the axis of rotation of said unit. It also should be understood that said branch pipe may be comprised of a ring-shaped pipe having a desired cross-sectional configuration such as circular or angled and being disposed so as to encompass the axis of rotation of said liquid-ejection unit, provided that this branch pipe is arranged symmetrical relative to the axis of rotation of said liquid-ejecting unit. Furthermore, in order to auxiliarly help with the control of the rotational speed of the unit effected by said ball-containing tube, a spring means (not shown) may be provided in said tiltable ball-containing tube 7 at a site closer to the open end thereof but between said pin 10' and said ball 9.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not restricted to the foregoing embodiments alone and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A liquid spray device comprising a liquid-ejecting pipe unit adapted to be rotatably attached in water-tight relation to a liquid supply pipe and having a plurality of branch pipes extending therefrom generally parallel with the rotational axis of said unit, said branch pipes being provided with a plurality of liquid spray orifices, at least one of said branch pipes being provided with a liquid discharge opening in the direction tangential to the vortex formed by the loci of said one of the branch pipes during its rotation and also with a rotational speed control means, said rotational speed control means comprising a tiltable cylindrical tube having a closed end and pivotally attached to said branch pipe in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said liquid discharge opening and extending in the direction proximal to the axis of rotation of said liquid-ejecting pipe unit, said tube being provided with a liquid jet orifice for driving said branch pipe, said orifice being located at a site closer to said closed end of said tube and traversing through the circumferential wall of said tube in such manner that said liquid jet orifice communicates with said liquid discharge opening, said tube having therein a ball adapted to move within said tube so as to engage said liquid jet orifice and to thereby cover the entire opening area of said liquid jet orifice 2. A liquid spray device with a rotational speed control means according to claim 1, wherein said liquid-ejecting pipe unit comprises annular branch pipes symmetrically shaped and arranged symmetrically relative to the axis of the rotation of said unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 442,462 12/1890 Sharples 239-257 X 551,754 12/1895 Bryant 239-257 X 2,992,781 7/1961 Howard 239-258 X 3,038,667 6/1962 Sandie 239257 ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Primary Examiner. 

